


Coming Out

by Edward_or_Ford



Series: Unexpected AU [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M, Sibling Incest, pinecest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 18:29:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9197924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edward_or_Ford/pseuds/Edward_or_Ford
Summary: More than a dozen years have passed since Dipper and Mabel have visited Gravity Falls. Is now the time to reveal their secret?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to place this story within the same AU as my previous fic “Unexpected”, but more than 12 years after the final scene of that story. It is not strictly necessary to have already read Unexpected before this story, but it is helpful.
> 
> As a bonus, see [here](http://edward-or-ford.tumblr.com/post/151267566737/) for a wonderful illustration of Cassie (courtesy of the incomparable @pinestimes2), and [here](http://edward-or-ford.tumblr.com/post/151609485682/) for a great digital render of the family (by the talented @twistedrivaliant). I think she’s adorable!
> 
> This is a SFW fic, a bit over 13K words all told. TW: incest.

“Really?” cried Cassie, her eyes wide. “You’re serious?”

Mabel smiled broadly at her daughter’s excitement. “Abso’-Rootin’-Tootin’-Lootley!” she replied, throwing a delighted glance at Dipper before grasping Cassie’s shoulders. The girl was so excited she was bouncing. “We decided it’s finally time to go back! We’ll be leaving in two days.” Cassie was practically vibrating with glee, making Mabel even happier. “You’re finally going to see some of those weird things about Gravity Falls we’ve been telling you about for so long!”

“Oh, man! Oh man oh man! Mom! Thank you thank you thank you so much!” Cassie lunged forward and almost knocked her mother over with a hug. Before Mabel could even put her arms around the hoodie-clad girl, the twelve-year-old flung herself across to Dipper and squeezed him even harder, nearly crushing her glasses against his chest. “Thank you Uncledip! Thank you thank you!” In a microsecond she was heading for her notoriously cluttered room, talking to herself. “I’ll need to find my bug spray! And plenty of sunscreen! And lots of different clothes. And the ScrapJournal! Maybe I’d better start another new one …” Her voice faded as the twins watched her bedazzled high-top sneakers disappear up the stairs.

Mabel grinned at Dipper. Her brother was looking bemusedly at the staircase. “You’re welcome,” he proclaimed to the empty space where the girl had been moments earlier. Mabel laughed and punched him affectionately on his shoulder. “Ow!” he yelped with a small chuckle. “Are you _ever_ going to stop doing that?”

“Nope!” his sister replied happily. “And you love it!” She stepped closer and coyly placed her hands on Dipper’s waist, looking up into his eyes. “Just like you love me!” Mabel declared quietly.

“Really!” Dipper replied with a growing smile, sliding a palm across Mabel’s stomach to her waist. He lowered his face to touch his nose to Mabel’s as he wrapped his arms around her securely. “You’re so  _sure_ about that?”

Mabel leaned back and cocked her head to the side. Her face was suddenly confused. “You could be right! I haven’t heard you tell me you love me in … almost _fifteen minutes_ now!” Her eyes widened and she gasped loudly. “Maybe all these years have just been a huge lie!” Her mouth dropped open dramatically and she froze.

Dipper stoically regarded his sister’s shocked expression. They both stared at each other motionless for a long moment. Finally, Dipper broke first, as he always did, snorting and turning his grinning face away as Mabel smirked triumphantly. Dipper pulled Mabel tightly against him. “You are a colossal nitwit!” he murmured.

“And you are the Lord of Dorkness,” Mabel whispered, sliding her hands behind her brother’s neck and shoulders, pulling his face to hers.

Still smiling, they gave one another several gentle pecks on the lips. Then Dipper produced a barely-audible gasp of desire, opening his mouth and squeezing his lover’s body more fervently. Mabel made a joyful squeak, melting into the embrace and allowing her tongue to dance with his.

The twins had never in their lives been happier than the last several months. Prior to the events of the previous summer, their romantic relationship had been inherently stressful: they had always been in constant fear of discovery, never feeling safe or secure. When they weren’t being kept apart, every minute they spent together was in hiding, even within every house or apartment they had called home. But now they were finally reveling in being able to freely be in love, at least in and around Trenton, New Jersey, and within their small rented townhouse. As far as anyone in the city knew, they were a happily married couple. The satisfaction of being able to hold hands and kiss in public, or simply being able to make out in their own living room, still hadn’t lost its luster.

A louder moan escaped from Mabel’s throat. Dipper’s kisses never failed to arouse her. She could feel the earnest, complete love for her that radiated from him, a feeling that made her knees weak every time. Her body molded and writhed into him, inviting his strong arms to hold her even closer.

Dipper lowered a hand to cup Mabel’s butt, squeezing and lifting her so her hips pressed solidly against his own. Their breathing grew ragged as their kissing became more passionate. Their pelvises instinctively ground together.

And then the mood was broken by the sound of a young girl clearing her throat from across the room.

Mabel stopped cold, a mischievous glint in her eye as her lips remained pressed on Dipper’s mouth. For his part, Dipper sheepishly pulled away and turned slowly to the bottom of the stairs, where Cassie stood with her arms folded.

“You two are gross!” she grumbled, a small sardonic smile on her face as she addressed her mother. “I don’t think you’d want to see _me_ grabbing some boy and doing any of that junk, Mom!” Mabel considered that, then screwed up her face and shook her head in agreement. Cassie’s faux-disapproval expression grew as she crossed the room. With a fist on her hip, she pointed up sternly at an embarrassed Dipper, his arms still in place around Mabel’s body. “And as for _you_ , ‘Uncle’ Dipper, you keep making me wish I didn’t figure out last summer that you’re my _dad!_ ”

“I’m sorry,” Dipper said sincerely, his face flushing as he pulled free of his sister’s grasp and pushed an awkward hand through his hair. “You’re … you’re right, Cass. It’s really not right that we do any of this. Maybe we shouldn’t-”

“No, you should!” his daughter interrupted, instantly serious and visibly upset. “… Dad … I was just kidding! Please don’t … I just …” Cassie’s voice trailed off, and she clumsily directed her attention down to the floor.

Mabel leaned down to the tween’s height, looking sympathetic with a sad lopsided smile. She ruffled her fingers through a mop of thick brown hair: her daughter’s hair was shorter, but looked and felt so much like her own. And like Dipper’s, of course. “Cassie, you’re always saying you’re okay, but are you _sure_ that it doesn’t bother you? You know … knowing the truth?” She put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “We know it’s been almost a year, but … well, it can’t be easy for you to have to deal with our whole weird ‘family secret’ thingy.”

Cassie swallowed and tentatively raised her head. “I’m okay, Mom,” she said, trying to sound sure of herself.

Mabel made a pointed harrumph as she gave Cassie’s shoulder a little shake. “Pumpkin, you don’t lie any better than I do!” she gently admonished. She felt the girl’s shoulders slump, followed by the sound of a heavy sigh.

“Yeah, I guess it does still bother me a little,” Cassie confessed, playing with the hem of her glittery skirt. “I try not to let it, but … it’s hard sometimes. It was _simpler_ before, ya know?” Her voice dropped to a timid mumble. “Before I knew about the … _incest_ … thing.”

As Mabel made a comforting acknowledgement, neither she nor Cassie noticed Dipper slouch, his body language and expression looking like he’d been kicked in the stomach. He’d always felt somewhat guilty over the burden that had fallen on their daughter, the responsibility to help keep the true nature of his relationship to his sister, and to Cassie, under a tight lid. Now he allowed the guilt to flow freely. His eyes flicked around, unfocused.

“Sometimes I worry about messing up in front of people, ‘cause I know how bad that could be,” Cassie was saying, looking downcast. Then her face brightened. “But most of the time-”

Dipper wasn’t paying attention to Cassie’s change of mood. “Cassie, I’m _so_ sorry,” he said dejectedly, staring out a window. “This is all so unfair to you-”

“Dipper-” Mabel tried to interject.

“No!” Dipper exclaimed, glaring at his sister. “This is our _fault_ Mabel! This is …” His voice grew quieter as he shuffled to the other side of the room. “This is _my_ fault! The way I’ve always looked at you, she caught on to that … then I didn’t close your bedroom door all the way that time when she saw me kissing you …” Dipper hung his head in shame. “… and she finds out her whole life was a lie!”

Cassie meekly attempted to console her father. “It’s okay … Dad …”

Dipper exhaled sharply. “Yeah! ‘Dad!’ Some father I am!” He put a hand over his forehead as he paced to the other side of the room and back. “You seemed to take it so well, I didn’t really think about how much of a mindfu- … how _screwy_ all this must have seemed to you! I mean, what eleven-year-old kid finds out her uncle is also her _father?_ And then …” He made himself look his daughter in eye, “… we  _forced_ you to share our secret. We tell you you’ve got to lie, because your parents are in a relationship that is _illegal!_ That everyone in society would think your mother and I are _sick!_ And that they’d even _think_ that you are anything less than _perfect_ , regardless of …” Dipper couldn’t finish the sentence as he subtly choked back a sob.

“And then on top of all _that,_ ” Dipper continued, unaware of Mabel and Cassie’s growing distress, “I come up with this _brilliant_ plan! ‘Hey! Since Cassie knows the truth now, we can start over! Why don’t we move to a new city, where they don’t know we’re siblings! We can pretend we’re married, like we’re a nice normal family, and everything will be great!’ Yeah … just another huge lie!”

“Dipper, we came up with that plan together!” Mabel cried, moving herself into the path of his pacing and gripping his arms. “Ever since we got here, you _know_ that things have been better!”

“Yeah, better for the two of us! We got everything we always wanted.” Dipper pointed at Cassie. “But what about _her?_ She had _just_ learned the truth, and not two months later we pull up and move down the state, away from Mom and Dad, away from her school, her friends, _everything_ she knew! We took from her any comfort she had before we _messed up her life!_ ” Dipper’s voice broke, and he paused only long enough to swipe away the growing wetness in his eyes before he continued ranting to his sister. “Then we ask her to go out and pretend like her whole world hasn’t just been turned upside-down! She’s not supposed to _have_ an uncle anymore! She’s not supposed to call me ‘Uncledip’: no, I’m ‘Dad’ now! But she still slips up! Did you hear her call me Uncledip just a few minutes ago when we told her about the vacation? And, oh, but wait! What if we go back to Westfield to visit the folks, and we see the old neighbors and friends? And what about when we see the Grunkles and Soos and everyone else next week in Gravity Falls? I’m ‘Uncledip’ again, I guess!” Dipper stepped back to wave his arms in frustration. “This is insane! We’re messing up her head! How is _any_ of this _better?_ ”

Dipper was startled as two small hands gripped one of his wrists. He looked down to see Cassie’s trembling face, and was instantly regretful of his outburst. She was tugging on his arm, and immediately he let her pull him down so that he was kneeling in front of her, feeling her hands grip his own tightly.

“Dad, I … I _know_ you and Mom have loved each other a long time, and … well I wouldn’t even _be_ here if you didn’t, and, well …” She sobbed quietly, swallowed, and looked into her father’s eyes. “… _Please_ don’t think that it’s bad that I figured out the truth. ‘Cause it’s not!”

Mabel moved to kneel beside Dipper and joined her hands with her brother and daughter.

Cassie rubbed her eyes with the back of her free hand. “I’ve never told either of you, but … I was always wondering who my father was. Not his name or anything, more like …” she looked to her mother, “more like how could my father be the kind of person who could let you go? Why couldn’t my father love you enough to … _want_ you? Or to want _me?_ ” A high-pitched whine sounded from Mabel’s mouth.

Then Cassie refocused on Dipper. “But _you_ were always there for me. As much as it sucked to not have a father, I had the _best_ uncle! I kind of always figured that if I had a father, it would be great if he could be like you.” A tear rolled down Dipper’s face.

“So when I found out that you actually _are_ my father … yeah it was weird, and-” a choked giggle escaped from her chest, “… and I guess it’s _still_ weird, but … but I’m really glad you’re my dad!” She bit her lower lip, then took a deep, trembling breath. “But more than that … I’m really, _really_ glad that my mom and dad have each other!”

Mabel appeared to be on the brink of starting to bawl. Despite her own fragile feelings, Cassie smiled broadly and rolled her damp eyes. “C’mon, Mom!” she cried shakily. “Hold it together, would ya?” Mabel gasped happily and nodded with vigor, using the sleeve of her sweater to scrub her face.

“I guess what I’m saying is … I’ve _seen_ how much happier you guys have been since we moved here … and yeah, I know I was just now complaining about how it all used to be simpler for me, but …” Cassie said unsteadily, “… but now I don’t _care_ what I have to do to adjust, or if I have to lie, or _anything!_ ” The girl’s self-control was almost gone. “You gave up so much for _years_ … for me, _because_ of me … you deserve _your_ turn now!”

The family collapsed into a jumbled embrace of cries and tears, of kisses and hugs, and of whispered pledges of love. Dipper and Mabel managed to ask their daughter again if she was sure she was okay with continuing the family charade. They clutched to one another for several minutes, sharing the moment and thankful for the love that they all felt for one another.

Soon the sobbing quieted, and the family rested comfortably in one another’s arms. Then quietly Cassie spoke up.

“Still … I _did_ get to go eleven years without having to see you two being all kissy and grabby and stuff,” she murmured slyly. “And no kid wants to see their parents being all gross!” She reached up with both hands and pushed her parents’ grinning heads together cheek to cheek. Then playfully, she scolded, “So next time, take it to your bedroom, okay?” Dipper and Mabel burst out laughing, with Cassie joining in.

When the relieved laughter died down, everyone agreed that it was late, and all three of them were tired. There was a lot to accomplish before the trip could get under way, and they would be packing all the next day. Therefore it made sense that they should go to bed and be rested in the morning. They climbed the stairs together, then the twins stopped outside Cassie’s bedroom door, saying goodnight and giving her kisses before heading to their own room down the hall. They were holding hands and looking lovingly at each other as they entered their bedroom and closed their door.

Cassie watched them go from the threshold of her door, smiling despite the icky weird feeling in her stomach of watching her parents being lovey-dovey. She really did like the way things were since they’d started living like a they were a normal family. Then she thought about the trip to Gravity Falls. As much as she was looking forward to seeing strange phenomena and mysterious creatures, it also meant that she would have to be careful. She would have to try to keep thinking about her father as simply “Uncledip” again. Worse, she’d have to watch her parents play the “normal siblings” act that they’d performed for her for so long.

As she backed into her room and closed her door, she wondered if perhaps she could change that.


	2. Chapter 2

“Are we therrrrrrrrrrrre yet? I’m stiff and tiiiiiirrrrrrred. And I need to peeeeeee!” The whiney complaints reverberated around the interior of the Pines family’s car, as they cruised down the monotonous Interstate 80.

Dipper exhaled loudly, a mixture of an amused chuckle and an exasperated sigh. He turned and quickly glanced at the twelve-year-old girl in the back seat. She grinned back at him.

“You know Cassie, I’m listening to this, but this complaining I hear makes no sense for two reasons,” he said to her, his face a mask of seriousness.

Cassie’s smile grew wider, her attention on Dipper. “What would those be?” she asked innocently.

“First, the whiney girl in question is too old to be making such noises,” he replied, struggling to keep a straight face and trying not to break eye contact with his daughter. Cassie started giggling as she noticed another head turn towards her father. “And second, not only is she way too old for this, she’s the one _driving the car!_ ” he laughed while raising his arms to fend off an expected punch to his shoulder.

Mabel, who was indeed the whiney driver of the aging Toyota hybrid, grinned wickedly. “You have besmirched my honor! On guard!” she cried out, swinging her arm and dodging under Dipper’s defenses, using nimble fingers to tickle her brother’s side.

“Mom, I think you meant ‘en garde’,” quipped Cassie from the safety the back seat. “It’s French.”

Dipper cried out in laughter and struggled to push back on Mabel’s hand. She redoubled her efforts and wiggled her fingertips harder against Dipper’s rib cage, yelling “Surrender!” repeatedly.

Cassie continued to survey the battle dispassionately. “You know … French … language of love, and all that?” she mused largely to herself.

Dipper squawked loudly in ticklish panic, reacting instinctively to wrestle the invading arm away towards the dashboard. Unfortunately, this caused Mabel to be pulled sideways in her seat, and in an instant the car began drifting out of the right lane on the divided highway towards the shoulder.

Cassie had been enjoying the antics of her dorky parents, but she immediately noticed that their car was not staying on a straight track. “Mom! Look out!” she yelled.

The twins stopped their impromptu wrestling match, Dipper releasing Mabel’s arm and letting out a short, loud scream as the passenger-side tires hit gravel. Eyes wide and tongue between her teeth, Mabel yanked the steering wheel to the left, then a flick back to the right, narrowly avoiding a freight transport truck beside them as she fought to keep the car from fishtailing. A moment later the danger had passed, and they were again safely traveling down the center of their lane.

A half mile went by before anyone spoke. With her adrenaline still pumping, a sheepish Mabel piped up, “Well at least I’m not tired anymore!”, forcing a chipper tone into her voice. Dipper glared at her sourly to protest her cavalier attitude to driving. Mabel tried harder to lighten the mood, casting a deliberate glance down between her legs and then making an exaggerated pinch of her nose. “Guess I don’t have to pee anymore, either!” she joked, relishing the guffaw her comment had drawn from Dipper as she changed lanes to pass a slower car ahead.

Cassie was incredulous at her parents as she finally found her voice. “Seriously?” she exclaimed, almost with bemused laughter. “You two have now _both_ almost caused accidents while driving on this trip, and we’re still only in Wyoming! I mean, you got precious cargo back here. Remember? Your only kid?” The twins glanced at each other, then Dipper smiled back to their back-seat driver. Cassie wasn’t finished. “C’mon! It’s 2028! Isn’t it about time we got one of those new auto-cars? Like … _that_ one?” she said as she pointed to the streamlined bubble-shaped car they were in the process of overtaking.

“An Apple Car?” Dipper grunted, waving dismissively at the stylish aluminum self-driving car that was crawling along at the speed limit. “Those things collect every bit of information about where you go and when! And I’ve heard that they can even record what you’re saying when you’re inside. Who knows what they’re doing with all that data? You can’t trust them!”

“And they’re no fun!” Mabel piped in. “Who wants to be driven around by their car? When you’re out on the open road, you gotta _drive_ , man!” she exclaimed, wiggling in her seat and twisting her hands around the steering wheel dramatically. “ _This_ is the way to travel!”

Dipper nodded in agreement. “Yeah! A good, _old fashioned_ car. No better way to go on a big road trip!”

“Darn tootin’!” Mabel replied smugly, holding out her fist. Dipper had already raised his own fist, and they tapped them together in a motion so practiced and natural, they hardly had to glance or even think about it.

Cassie leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. “You’re both so weird!” she groaned in shame, though her voice betrayed the smile on her face as she spoke.

“And lucky for you, Sassy Cassie, weird runs in the family,” shot back Mabel, grinning broadly while keeping her eyes on the road. “Weird’s not just a state of mind, it’s in our DNA! Right, Dip?”

Dipper snorted, then glanced into the back again. His daughter’s expression was now looking less amused, and more contemplative. “Uh, Mabes?” He motioned to the back with his head when Mabel turned to glance at him. “Maybe … we can try not to use the words ‘weird’ and ‘DNA’ in the same sentence?” he said diplomatically.

“It’s okay, Dad,” Cassie said. “I’m-”

“‘Uncledip’, Cassie, not ‘Dad’,” Dipper reminded her apologetically. “You have to un-learn that habit, at least for the next couple of weeks.”

Cassie bit her lip for a short moment. “Yeah … that’s kinda what I’ve been thinking about,” she replied quietly, then fell silent.

Mabel peered at her daughter through the rear-view mirror. “Wanna talk about it, Mini-me?” she asked. “What’s cloggin’ your noggin?”

There was no immediate answer. As was her habit, Cassie fell silent as she ran through her mind how it would be best to proceed. Her parents waited patiently. Then she straightened up, pushing her glasses higher onto her nose with her index finger, and took a deep breath.

“What would happen if we … _tell_ them?” she asked tentatively.

Dipper squinted at Mabel in confusion. Mabel glanced back, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head. Dipper turned around face Cassie. “Tell _who?_ Tell them _what?_ ”

With more confidence, Cassie looked her father in the eye. “What would happen if we were to tell your Grunkles and your friends the truth? About the two of you? … And about me?”

His eyes widened. “Wait, _what?!_ ” Dipper blurted, his mind instantly unable to comprehend the suggestion. “ _Tell_ them about … us? _Why_ would we … How could you think … W- We _can’t_ tell anyone about that! It would be …” His voice trailed off as struggled to articulate his jumbled thoughts. He noticed Cassie almost shrink, staring at the back of the seat in front of her, rejection obvious in her face and posture.

Despite his daughter’s hurt feelings, Dipper felt relief that somehow discussion of the uncomfortable subject matter had been terminated. He turned back to face forward, sagging into his seat.

Mabel exhaled loudly in disgust. She jammed on the brakes, ignoring the yelps of alarm from the other two passengers as she veered the car onto the shoulder. The Toyota came to a quick stop amid a cloud of gravel dust as she flipped on the hazard flashers, jammed the transmission into park, and then turned to face her confused brother.

“Dipper, you do this _all the time!_ ” she fumed. “You always shut down any conversation about stuff you don’t want to talk about! Just avoid the uncomfortable poop until it goes away, without dealing with it! Well I was listening, and you didn’t even come _close_ to answering Cassie’s question!” Dipper, unable to get in a word, was forced to listen. “So let me try that again on her behalf! What _would_ happen if we were to tell them about us?” She crossed her arms, awaiting a reply as traffic flowed past on the highway.

Dipper was dumbfounded. Irrationally, he turned to Cassie. She was just as surprised as her father, and could do no more than raise a perplexed eyebrow in return. He gaped back at his sister. “Mabel, you … you think we _should_ tell everyone about us?”

“I didn’t _say_ that!” she retorted. “I said I want to hear what you think would happen. What _exactly_ would be the outcome if our old family and friends in Gravity Falls, who we haven’t seen in over a decade, were to know the truth about us. Go ahead!” She waggled her fingers towards herself. “Tell us!”

Her brother’s breathing was ragged. His mouth formed words that refused to come out. Dipper had conditioned himself for years to resist even considering the possibility that the truth of their hidden secrets would ever be revealed, even accidentally. To now be forced to think of what the repercussions would be of _intentionally_ coming forward with the truth? It was simply beyond his ability to handle with any kind of aplomb. The paranoid and fearful side of his personality was hysterical, trying to envision terrible scenes of shame, embarrassment, rejection, and danger. He was incapable of a reasonable examination what might occur.

Mabel had enough of Dipper’s stalling. “You don’t know, do you?” she stated flatly.

With one last failed attempt to justify his fears, he turned and stared out the windshield. “No,” he replied softly, stubbornly refusing to look at Mabel.

She reached over and gently cupped her brother’s chin, turning his head towards her. Mabel’s expression of challenge had immediately transformed into sympathy. “It’s okay, Dip. I’m scared too, and you might be completely right! It could be the worst idea in the world.” She directed a half-smile towards the girl in the back. “And it might be the _best_ idea!” She leaned across to give Dipper a soft kiss on the lips, then reached back and dragged her daughter’s head forward so she could plant a loud “mmmwwwaaaahhh” on the top of her head. “So let’s _talk_ about it! _Family meeting!_ ” she yelled out excitedly.

Cassie was trying to smooth down her hair. “Right here?” she asked dubiously.

“On the side of the Interstate?” added a perplexed Dipper.

“Of course not! First we’ve got to get to the next rest stop.” Mabel turned off the hazard lights and put the car in gear as she checked for an opening in the traffic. “I really, _really_ do have to pee!” she muttered as she mashed the accelerator pedal. The front tires threw gravel, and the Toyota sprinted its way back onto the pavement and down the flat and straight highway, headed west.

* * *

The next rest stop appeared many miles down the highway at Point of Rocks, as the wide-open plains began to give way to small rocky hills, and the horizon betrayed the first hint of the approaching mountains. Dipper refueled the car while Mabel ran to avail herself of the facilities in the service center. They bought some travel snacks from the gas station store, then found a picnic table nearby on the edge of the dusty trucker’s parking lot.

“So tell me more about the two of you and everyone in Gravity Falls, Mom,” asked Cassie as she cracked open a can of Dr. Pepper.

Mabel was just finishing shoveling a handful of pink candied popcorn into her mouth. Her eyes shifted to her brother. “Dih-pherrr?” she mumbled, a few kernels falling from her lips onto the ground.

Dipper shook his head fondly, taking a pull from his bottle of Mountain Dew. “Well last time we saw them, we weren’t much older than you. So I suppose people could change, but on the whole … they were great!” He stared into the distance with a small smile, remembering the people he and Mabel had spent their summers with. “First, of course, are Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford. They may be twins, but they’re pretty different. At first, they barely spoke to one another, then they made up and … well, you’ve read all of Ford’s articles. You know almost as much about their adventures together as either of us do.”

“But what about with _you?_ ” Cassie pressed. “How well did you, you know, _get along_ with them?”

Her father’s smile dropped. “At first … not all that well sometimes,” he admitted. “When it was just Stan, he was _okay_ , but he was always making me do hard stuff, singling me out … I didn’t realize he was trying to toughen me up.” He looked at Mabel, who was washing down the remainder of the popcorn with her Red Bull. “But even after we understood that, I still don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say you always got on with Stan better than I did.”

“That’s fair,” Mabel replied, wiping her mouth briefly. “And you certainly connected with Grunkle Ford more than me!” Dipper nodded in agreement. “But as much as we had different styles and interests, either one of them would have done _anything_ for us! They saved our butts a _bunch_ of times.”

“Yeah,” added Dipper. “Two grumpy old men … who really loved and cared about us. And I guess we loved them right back.” He slumped forward, his elbows resting on the table. “I wonder if they’ve changed much? I wish we’d kept in closer touch through the years. They know about you, of course, but we’ve always had to dance around the whole subject of why we had to move East. A few calls on the phone every now and then, but they didn’t take to video calls. Not even Grunkle Ford.”

“They _are_ in their eighties now, Dip,” Mabel said. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough, since they still live in the back of the Shack.”

Dipper nodded. “Yeah I remember. Soos built their apartment at ground level so they’d be able to get in and out even as they got older.”

“Well it was this ‘Soos’ guy that you talked to about going out for this visit,” said Cassie. “Didn’t you always say he was a really nice guy to you, too?”

“Oh, yeah!” exclaimed Mabel. “He was the best! To him we were always his little ‘dudes’, almost like we were his brother and sister.”

“Soos _was_ great! And we got to know Melody really well over the last two summers, too,” added Dipper. “She’s nice! We liked her a lot. They’ve got kids, too. We saw Stan Jr. when he was just a baby, and they have another son who was born after we moved East.”

Mabel looked wistful. “I’ve kept in touch with Candy and Grenda a bit through the years. Grenda never left Gravity Falls after she and Marius broke up, so I’m sure we’ll see her. And Candy wrote me to say she’s returned for a long visit for the first time after she and her family left.”

“Do they know if Wendy is still around or not?” wondered Dipper. Mabel shrugged, not knowing either way.

Cassie looked confused. “In all the stories you told me over the years, I thought Wendy was this totally _cool_ girl. Why didn’t you keep in touch with her, too?”

Mabel threw Dipper a knowing look, causing Dipper to stiffen uncomfortably. “Our last summer there was when your mother and I had just … ‘gotten together’, if you know what I mean,” Dipper said, ignoring Cassie’s gagging pantomime. “We’re pretty sure that by the time we left, Wendy suspected something.” He paused to rub the back of his neck. “We talked on the phone once, just before we moved to New Jersey, when Mabel was pregnant with you. We weren’t even telling anyone about that, or that we were moving, we were only letting her know that we wouldn’t be up for the summer. And that conversation was … _awkward_.”

“ _Really_ awkward!” Mabel agreed sadly. “It was like she knew everything already. We just didn’t know what to say to her, and she was kinda the same way.” She kicked at the gravel beneath her feet. “We’ve never had any contact with her since.”

This did not alleviate Cassie’s confusion. “So … she told you she didn’t _like_ you anymore, knowing what was going on between you two? She wouldn’t even talk to you the next time you called?”

The twins guiltily looked at each other. “I don’t think she really was like _that_ ,” Mabel allowed. “More like … she didn’t want to mention the big ol’ elephant in the room, and we weren’t really going to be offering any explanation, either!”

“We never tried calling her again. Your grandparents really discouraged us from trying to stay friends with anyone out on the West Coast after we moved East,” mused Dipper.

“By the time we moved out on our own with you, Wendy would probably have been a senior in college, or married, and we just wouldn’t have had anything in common anymore,” Mabel said. “Ughh! Stupid, stupid junk, making us stay away from people we love!”

As the dull roar of engine and tire noise from the nearby Interstate continued, an uncomfortable silence fell on the family. Dipper was again experiencing the same feelings of chagrin he had felt for years. Mabel was downcast, regretful of the connections and friends that they had lost.

But for her part, Cassie had been listening carefully. “So … what you’re telling me is that as far as you both know, all these people were _great_ , and … probably still are!” she declared. “Hopefully, that would mean none of them will automatically _hate_ us, just because you two are my parents.”

Both of the twins stiffened at this: neither could imagine the word “hate” associated with any of their beloved family and friends in Oregon. “They could never _hate_ us! Could they?” Mabel asked her brother. Dipper paused, then shook his head.

“So if they wouldn’t hate us … “ Cassie shrugged, looking questioningly first to her mother, then to her father, “… what’s the worst that could happen if we just _tell_ them?”

Mabel was touched by the naive simplicity of Cassie’s logic. Dipper felt it too. They exchanged a look. They _wanted_ it to be that simple! But they knew they had to spell it out for their daughter one more time.

“Cassie …” Mabel began, “… what your father and I share isn’t something that most people will _ever_ accept. And we can’t blame them for that! Inc-” She stopped, closed her eyes and swallowed. “ _Incest_ is kinda wrong, pretty much any way you want to look at it. Dip and I wouldn’t approve of it _either,_ if it hadn’t happened to us! And having a child, like yourself … that’s even _more_ out there! I mean, it’s not nearly as risky as most people think. _You’re_ proof of that! But … yeah, there’s a greater chance of some kinds of genetic junk for children born from couples like us. So I guess we were lucky. Still …” Mabel stumbled, hating to verbalize the worst about their family’s predicament. She turned to Dipper with a pleading look.

Out of habit, Dipper glanced around him before continuing. “You have to remember, our parents didn’t just take us away from California because they were embarrassed, or even just to protect your Mom and I from bullies. The biggest thing we were running away from was-” Dipper sighed painfully. “Cassie, the very existence of our family is _against the law!_ If authorities ever discover that I’m your father, you could be _taken_ from us! There is real _prison time_ written into the laws we’ve broken!”

“I know _I know I KNOW,_ Dad!” Cassie complained, irritated at the lecture. “I’ve already heard this _how_ many times over the last year?”

Exasperated, Dipper spread his hands in front of him. “Then you should understand why we have to keep this a secret! Why are you even _suggesting_ we just start telling people about us?”

“Not just any ‘ _people’_ , Dad!” Cassie shot back in anger. “I’m saying maybe we should tell _family!_ Something that outside of Grandma and Grandpa, I’ve never known!” She was almost yelling now. “And _friends!_ You don’t _have_ any! _Neither_ of you let yourselves make any friends in Trenton because you don’t want anyone to get close enough to find out everything about us. But we’re about to see friends that _already_ _know_ you, that you went through so much with! With all you’ve told me about them, even if they’re a little weirded out, do you honestly think any of them would do anything to have me _taken away_ from you? Or to have you sent to _jail?_ ” Her face was wet as her impassioned, impromptu speech continued to pour out. “You just said you loved them! _Don’t you think they probably love you, too!?_ ”

The twins were dumbfounded by how persuasive their little girl could be. Dipper took one look at Mabel and could tell she was already convinced. He played his only card left, appealing with logic, before she could say anything. “We’d still be taking a chance, Mabel! … For a couple of weeks, it would just be easier for the two of us to go back to just being twins, pretending there’s nothing between us. Like we did for years.”

Mabel smirked, then she looked proudly to their daughter. “How ‘bout it, Counselor Cass? Care to respond to your esteemed colleague’s argument?”

Despite her tear-soaked face, Cassie’s expression was crafty. She lifted her chin. “Your honor,” she stated, “I submit that just a few days ago, I informed my opponent here,“ motioning to her father, “that it was he and my Mom’s turn to be able to be together. I believe it still is!” She sniffed, wiping her face with her sleeve and facing Dipper directly. “Dad … maybe it’d be _easier_ to go back to pretending. But c’mon! Don’t you think it’d be _better_ if you didn’t?”

Dipper swallowed hard, staring at the top of picnic table. The suggestion was unnecessarily risky, a proposal that just didn’t need to be acted on. For the sake of his family’s safety, he knew he had to be firm with Cassie and Mabel, and reject this idea. He lifted his head, looking into the eyes of the two most important people in his life. 

And he saw the hope in their expressions. Their desire for acceptance. The anticipation of something new, something better.

His resolve collapsed instantly. The tension in his shoulders disappeared, and a small, defeated smile spread across his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Cassie looked skeptically at the contents of the outdoor display case. It appeared to be a child-sized department store mannequin with a sharp-fanged monster mask pulled over its face and its body spray-painted green. It was dressed in a stereotypical wizard’s robe, a tall cone-shaped pointy hat on its head, and a long plastic wand glued to its hand.

“This is a … ‘Chupacabracadabra’?” she read from the plate mounted on the glass. Mabel laughed out loud, while Dipper rolled his eyes and shook his head in amusement.

It was late afternoon, and an exhausted Pines family, after four long days of driving, had finally arrived at Gravity Falls. The curious display was one of several outside the Mystery Shack, mounted along the walkway from the nearly empty parking lot to the main entrance. A sign by the door displayed that they had missed the day’s final guided tour of the Shack by over an hour, and it was only minutes to closing time. The twins noticed that the old A-frame building had never looked better. While still rustic, Soos had obviously done a great job of keeping their great uncle’s cabin in fine shape over the years.

Mabel and Cassie were laughing while examining another display case. “Mom, this is ridiculous!” Cassie exclaimed. “This thing is supposed to be a ‘Hawktopus, part bird of prey and part cephalopod’. That’s so stupid! Would anyone ever believe this is real?” Dipper chuckled and turned away. He’d tell Cassie later that the creature was, in fact, _completely_ real. Although he recalled that Great Uncle Ford had also classified it as “too stupid to study,” so at least she was correct about the stupidity level of this particular Gravity Falls fauna.

Dipper reminisced on adventures and memories of years ago. He looked up at the triangular window directly above the entrance, smiling wistfully. As he admired the building, Mabel elbowed him and motioned that they should follow their daughter, who had already mounted the stairs to the Shack’s entrance.

Inside the gift shop, there were all kinds of cheesy trinkets, souvenirs, and t-shirts available for tourists to purchase so as to remember their visit. The old “Sascrotch” statue was now positioned next to the vending machine, but otherwise everything looked very much as it had thirteen years earlier, right down to the soft music playing in the background..

There was no sign of anyone behind the counter, and no sounds of activity in the adjacent exhibit area. “Where is everyone?” Cassie wondered, peering around a display rack, but finding no one.

“I don’t know,” said Mabel, genuinely curious. “We _never_ left the gift shop unattended when we worked here. Well …” she smirked, “… except for Roof Time!” She pointed to the curtain on the wall beside the cash register and swiftly crossed the floor. She pulled it back to reveal a ladder, but her smile disappeared as she noted the hatch in the ceiling above was closed. No one was on the roof.

Dipper was also feeling concern that the Shack appeared abandoned, when it was supposedly open for business. He stepped towards the entrance to the exhibit rooms. When he was within a few feet of entering, all the lights in the building suddenly went out.

The gift shop was still somewhat lit by the late afternoon sun entering through the windows, but there were now eerie, deep shadows created by every piece of merchandise, and creepy shrouds of darkness behind each display rack. Suffocating silence fell on the room as the background music and buzzing fluorescent lights died, the vending machine shut down, and the ceiling fan slowly spun to a halt. Beyond the threshold of the exhibit area entrance, the rest of the interior of the building was plunged into silence and pitch blackness.

The twins had seen enough odd occurrences in their time at Gravity Falls to be immediately wary, and Cassie picked up on their discomfort. The Pines family drew together into the center of the room, Dipper and Mabel instinctively maneuvering their daughter between them. For several long moments they remained quiet and still, glancing around with trepidation.

“Hello?! … Soos? Melody?” Dipper called out loudly. “Is anyone here?”

There was no reply. Instead, they saw a faint glow begin to emerge from the exhibit hall, gradually growing into a menacing red color. At the same time, disturbing sounds of primitive groans and faint whispers began to be heard.

Cassie backed away into Mabel’s arms. “Mom …” she murmured shakily.

Mabel turned them around towards the door and grabbed her brother’s arm. “C’mon,” she said carefully. “Let’s figure out this weird stuff when we’re outside,” as she pulled her family away from the sinister light and sounds.

Just as she reached the door, a loud metallic click sounded ominously. Mabel tried to open the door, but it was now locked. Twice more, with increasing forcefulness, she tugged at the handle, but it remained securely closed. Dipper’s efforts were also fruitless.

They turned back to the crimson illumination, now realizing that they had no choice but to move forward. Dipper motioned Mabel and Cassie to follow behind him, and slowly they moved towards the main exhibit parlour. Dipper picked up a large snow globe off a display shelf, as it was the only thing resembling weapon he could see. Mabel wished she had her old trusty grappling hook with her as she kept Cassie between herself and Dipper. Despite her rising fear, Cassie couldn’t help but peer past her father’s cocked arm to see what unknown force was threatening them.

As they stepped into the large room, it was apparent that it was the source of the glow and the unsettling cacophony. They found the space filled by a cloud of mist, the red haze so thick they couldn’t see anything over a dozen feet away. Vague outlines of glass display cases and wall-hung photographs loomed at them. The disembodied voices continued to get louder, overlapping so densely that it was impossible to make out what they were saying. Dipper put an arm behind him, feeling tense relief when Mabel’s hand grasped his. Together, the three of them stepped further into the bone-chilling gloom.

Then without warning, searingly bright yellow lights suddenly stabbed out from within the inanimate forms of the mysterious creatures and curiosities, matched by the sudden loud addition of unnatural screams all around them. Cassie screeched in terror, covering her head with her arms. Mabel instantly embraced her, unthinkingly using her own body as a shield.

Dipper spun and protectively wrapped his arms around both of them while looking around wildly. Then his adrenaline spiked as a dark and massive form suddenly loomed through the mist directly behind Mabel. It unleashed a guttural bellow as it raised its arms above its head, prepared to strike.

The Pines twins had well-matched reaction times. Mabel twisted around as Dipper leaped past his daughter, hurling the glass globe as hard as he could at the creature while launching himself towards it. Its furry face recoiled as the projectile connected low on its forehead, then its head snapped back forward as Mabel drove her fist hard into the soft midsection of the monster. Its pitiful groan was audible for an instant, then was cut off by Dipper’s flying tackle, taking himself and the apparition violently back into the gift shop. They landed awkwardly, Dipper bouncing off the creature and crashing into a rack of postcards.

As Dipper struggled to regain his feet, the lights suddenly came back on and the unholy noises ceased. Back in the parlour, bright lights that easily pierced the haze turned on. Through the blood pounding in his ears and his heaving breaths, Dipper first made out the sounds of his daughter’s frightened cries, and his sister’s urgent gasps. Then before he could leap again at the sprawled creature, he began processing the other sounds. The click of the outside door automatically unlocking. The pleas of a desperate woman for everyone to please stop. And a distinctively familiar male voice emanating from the monster, groaning in pain. A “monster” that Dipper now saw was the Sascrotch, complete with huge tighty-whitey underwear worn outside of the furry disguise, and rubbing its head gingerly.

The shock began to fade as Melody ran from the parlour, flying past Mabel and Cassie to check on the Bigfoot cosplayer. She quickly pulled off the head of the costume, revealing the pained face of Dipper and Mabel’s favorite handyman and Man of Mystery, Soos.

“Ohhhhhhh! Dudes!” Soos groaned as Melody cradled his head gently. “You got no clue how much more this hurts me than it hurts you!”

* * *

After fast, remorseful apologies from everyone involved, and a quick scolding of Soos by his wife for making the new Mystery Shack “experience” too intense for those not forewarned, Mabel, Melody, and Soos excitedly shared welcoming embraces while Dipper comforted Cassie. She recovered quickly and came forward, along with Soos and Melody’s sons, Stan Jr. and Lee, who were controlling the lights, audio, and mist machines from the balcony. The fourteen and eight year old boys were both introduced to the visitors, and shy welcomes were exchanged. Melody nodded meaningfully to Lee, who made a startled noise and ran off to run to the back of the building.

Within a few minutes the boy returned, and Dipper and Mabel were delighted to see their great uncles Stan and Ford behind him, slowly making their way across the floor. Mabel squealed and almost knocked over Stan, while Dipper and Ford shared a big hug. Both old men commented on how the twins had gotten all grown up, and made a big fuss over Cassie, noting how much she looked like her mother.

Soos closed the Shack for business, and Melody ushered everyone to the living quarters at the back of the building. Dipper and Mabel remembered the large addition to the structure that Soos had added years before. Once there, Soos and Melody allowed the young Pines family to reminisce with their great uncles while they prepared a celebratory dinner. A lot of catching-up was done over the meal, with the hosts telling of local news, including how the Ramirez family had to adjust following the death of Soos’ Abuelita three years earlier. The guests filled in details of Dipper’s research position at Princeton, Mabel’s efforts to become a primary school teacher, and Cassie’s education and activities. No one seemed surprised at Cassie’s proclamation that she’d always wanted to visit Gravity Falls.

Dipper, Mabel, and Cassie indulged in eating home-prepared food for the first time in days, instead of cheap take-out and unhealthy snacks while on the road. Soos even offered the Pines adults a glass of his homemade wine with the meal: Dipper and the Grunkles accepted, while Mabel politely declined. Dipper declared Soos’ future as a vintner to be secure.

The meal was just completed when the doorbell sounded. At Soos’ exaggerated “Why, who could that be?” statement, Mabel grinned and threw open the door. Standing on the step were her best friends from the first summer in Oregon, Candy and Grenda. The tiny Asian woman was apparently staying with the stocky and mildly-famous “Strongwoman of Oregon” while visiting the town. Eardrums were assaulted as Mabel’s screams of delight competed with the other two for auditory dominance, and floorboards creaked from the leaping of three excited young ladies.

Cassie and Dipper were briefly pulled in (including Dipper being lifted and spun around easily by Grenda), then Dipper announced he would unpack the car. Cassie suggested she could help, but Dipper insisted she get more acquainted with their hosts. After a few trips, there was a big pile of travel bags and suitcases inside the entrance, and he wondered if he and Mabel would be sleeping in their old little single beds in the attic.

Dipper was alone outside, hefting the last case off the roof rack, when a pickup truck pulled into the parking lot. As he looked up, Dipper squinted to see the new arrival, his vision fighting the setting sun that was directly behind the old half-ton. The driver stepped out, face obscured in shadows, but the sun’s rays lit up the cropped hair that surrounded the face: fiery red hair.

“Hey man,” said the new arrival casually. “How’s it hanging?”

Heart leaping into his throat, Dipper felt involuntary sweat burst onto his forehead as he recognized the statuesque woman. “Wendy!” he blurted. “When- how did you know … “

“Ehh! Word gets around, dude!” answered the lanky woman, an easy smile on her face. “You’re lookin’ good, little man!”

It felt strange for Dipper to not have to look up when facing Wendy. Stranger, though, was facing her at all, thinking that she was suspicious of his relationship with his sister, and of who the father of Mabel’s daughter was. But he pushed past it. He decided if he was going to tell the others the truth at some point during this visit, Wendy may as well hear it too. He trusted her has much as anyone, and he immediately forced himself to relax. “Thanks … you look great, too!” He returned Wendy’s smile. “It’s good to see you again. Can you stay for a bit?”

“You know it!” she replied, relieved to see Dipper’s tension lessen and tousling his hair as she stepped closer to him. “I need to catch up with my best little bud!” Dipper grinned shyly, remembering his brief crush on her. “Plus I gotta see how my girl Mabel is doing. And I’m dying to meet her daughter!”

Dipper flinched and his grin froze, as did his attention on her. She noticed the change, but easily let it slide and stepped around him towards the Shack. Moments later she entered to the sounds of more of Mabel`s screams of excitement from inside.

Outside, Dipper watched Wendy disappear inside and cursed himself for reacting. This was going to be harder than he thought. Dipper took a deep breath, and tried to prepare for his family’s leap of faith. _Might as well get this over with tonight,_ he thought as he followed Wendy inside.

* * *

Cassie’s eyes were wide with wonder. “That portal you guys told me about … that’s it right there?”

Dipper shook his head slowly. “Well, it _was_ there, before it kind of exploded and Great Uncle Ford took the rest of it apart,” he said reverently, his mouth hanging open as he beheld the large inverted triangular structure. “Soos, you did an _incredible_ job replicating it! The detail … it looks just like the real portal!”

“Aww, thanks dude!” Soos blushed, his pride in his handiwork obvious. “We only had a minute or so to look at it before things went pretty crazy, but you kinda remember moments like that, ya know?”

Soos had obtained Stanford’s permission years before to open up the laboratory beneath the Shack to the public, as long as his name was kept out of it. Using the cavern allowed Soos to set up large, elaborate exhibits that would be impossible otherwise in the A-frame, and to also recreate the portal. Soos had always enjoyed retelling the stories of the portal and its mysterious interdimensional traveller to the tourists that would visit. But he would get frustrated when they refused to believe one of the few amazing things he had to show them had _actually_ occurred.

The memories of what had happened sixteen years before were flooding back to Mabel. “Everything that was here that summer … it’s like it’s all _still_ here,” murmured Mabel, who had always resisted going back down to the cavern since the day of Great Uncle Ford’s reappearance. She looked with misty eyes at the skinny pole sticking out of the concrete floor with a red button placed on top. Dipper took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Cassie, though, was in heaven. She had gotten a second wind of energy after dinner, and after ten at night wasn’t even thinking of sleep when the Ramirez boys went to their bedrooms. She had been the one who had begged to see the underground facility. “It must have been so _amazing_ to have seen all that!” she said softly, an awed expression on her face as she took in the entire space. “I would have _loved_ to have been here then!”

“I don’t know, kid,” interjected Stan, having just emerged from the Control Room and seeing Mabel’s discomfort. “Your mother might remember things differently,” he said as he shuffled into the cavern.

Ford struggled a bit further behind his brother and tsked. “Perhaps if you hadn’t hidden what you were doing from them all that summer, Dipper and Mabel wouldn’t have been so confused that day.”

“Yeah, you’re so smart? Remind me again why we have to take a flight of stairs down from the vending machine to _get_ to an elevator?” Grunkle Stan groused sarcastically through the pain in his back.

“The elevator was for _security_ , Stanley, not accessibility for old men like us!” barked back Stanford.

Stan scoffed. “Oh yeah! It was so _secure,_ your idiot brother figured out how to disable the lock forty-five years ago!”

That caused Ford to bristle. “Stanley, we’re twins! Of _course_ you were able to unlock the elevator’s scanner, we have the same DNA!” He winced and stopped, leaning on his cane and straightening a knee. “Though I wish we didn’t have to share the same arthritis.”

Behind them, Melody was filled with concern. “Are you both sure you’re all right?” She had found herself strangely protective of the cranky old twins as the years had gone on. Particularly since their ability to embark on their own adventures together had stopped within the past few years.

“We’re fine!” Stan grumbled, but with a wily grin. “ _Someone’s_ got to keep Poindexter on his toes!” Ford grunted back with a sidelong glance that included a small smirk.

Cassie had been growing nervous as the old men argued, then Stan winked at her. Her smile slowly reappeared as she saw how they were only trading good-natured gibes. She began to see why her parents had always been so fond of their great uncles.

A moment later the final load of passengers had stepped off the elevator and entered the lab. “Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Candy, amazed at the size of the cave. “I had no idea this was here! This would have made excellent addition to Mystery Shack pamphlet back in the day.”

“This is way cool!” agreed Wendy. “I’m thinking some hydroponics lights, ventilation up to the surface, a water supply …” She smiled innocently as everyone fixed her with dubious stares. “Hey, a girl can dream!” she quipped with her hands up in surrender.

Grenda was familiar with the cavern already, having been hired by Soos to help renovate the space. “Hey Candy! Listen to this!” She cleared her throat, drew a deep breath, then unleashed a deep guttural bellow that echoed and amplified off the walls and ceiling. In a second everyone was pressing their palms to their ears, attempting to block the buffeting waves of basso profundo assaulting them from every direction until Grenda’s lung capacity was finally emptied.

After the resultant laughter died down, Soos conducted his tour, showing off a range of special oddities that included what appeared to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex encased in hardened tree sap. He also proudly unveiled his new walled-off workshop where he built most of his creations.

Unnoticed by the others, Dipper grasped his sister’s elbow and fell back far enough for a subdued conversation to remain unheard. He leaned over, putting himself almost nose to nose with Mabel. “Mabes, the first time we entered this room, it was one of the scariest, yet best days of our life,” he whispered. “I just thought … if we’re going to do what we said we’d do … it seems right we do it right here, right now! Tell _all_ of them, at once! Make this another day to remember!”

Mabel tilted her head. “Dip, you said in the car you’d be more comfortable telling everyone separately. All at once will be a _lot_ more intense!” she whispered back. Her brother looked away, thinking about the pros and cons. “You _sure_ you can handle telling everyone at once, on our first day here?” she asked.

Her brother flushed, then took a steadying breath. “No, I’m not,” he admitted. “But I want to try anyways. What do you say?”

“Darn!” she pouted. “I’m scared too, and as much as the idea is a good one … I was hoping you’d chicken out!”

Dipper quietly clucked with a grin, then smiled seriously. “C’mon! We can do this! Together, just like always!”

There was no resisting her dork brother when he was being earnest and sincere. Mabel gave in. “Okay, okay, Mister!” she muttered playfully. She discreetly held up her fist. “Mystery Twins?”

“Mystery Twins!” came Dipper’s hushed reply, gently placing his fist against hers. They imperceptibly rubbed their fists together in a subtle caress as they locked their eyes together in a loving gaze. Then they bumped their knuckles together lightly twice. “Tap! Tap!” they recited in unison, smiling in mutual support. Then they caught up to the rest of the group just as Soos declared the private cavern tour to be complete, and announced for everyone to proceed back to the elevator.

“Wait! … Please,” called Dipper tentatively from behind, causing everyone to turn.

Mabel stood beside her brother and held his hand. “We’d like it if everyone could hold up for a few minutes,” added Mabel, looking uncharacteristically unsure. “We’ve … well, we’ve got something we have to tell you.”

Cassie recognized what her parents were doing. She had known all these people only a few hours, but already she felt a stab of fear: fear of rejection by family and friends who she already was starting to like, and had begun to feel close to. Looking at her parents’ nervous faces, she realized she must only be feeling a fraction of the fear they were at this moment, and now knew why they had been so scared to do this before. It made her understand how brave her parents were being. How brave they were being _for her!_

She’d never felt more proud of her mother and father, and had never been so thankful. Immediately she ran across to them and threw her arms around them, squeezing tightly as tears again fell down her cheeks. _I never used to like crying,_ she thought obliquely.

“I love you guys so much!” Cassie whispered, the sound of her whisper echoing off the walls and easily heard by everyone in the silent room. The family held one another for a moment, then Cassie turned to stand with Dipper and Mabel and face seven very attentive people.

Dipper coughed. “We’ve only had to do this once before … a long time ago. But … we decided that all of you should know …” He took a deep breath, and looked into Mabel’s eyes. And as always happened, he couldn’t keep from smiling. “… Mabel and I love each other.”

There was no sound of response. Dipper and Mabel looked back at their assembled audience and their careful, measured reactions that betrayed no strong emotions.

Mabel cleared her throat. “What we mean is, Dipper and I … are _in_ love with each other!” she clarified with a tremble in her voice.

The family watched Soos and Melody exchange looks to one another, duplicating the expressions Stan and Ford were giving each other. Candy averted her gaze to the far wall. Grenda examined her shoes. Only Wendy looked directly back at them. Dipper saw no malice, no disgust. He steeled himself to give the rest of their testimony.

But Cassie was a step ahead of him.

“And Mom isn’t the only parent I have here,” she interrupted loudly. She turned and looked up at Dipper with a look of love and trust. “Uncledip is my Dad! … My _real_ Dad!” she declared with pride. Facing forward again, she pushed the bangs of her hair up, revealing her Cassiopeia-shaped birthmark that was the source of her nickname. “Ta-Daaaaa!” she cried goofily, then turned back away in sudden bashfulness. Dipper gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze, and struggled to keep himself from bursting into tears of happiness mixed with stress.

With nothing left to confess, Cassie waited uncomfortably for some kind of repercussion. Mabel was a wreck, searching for something to react to. Dipper only heard his own uneven breathing.

Finally after what seemed an eternity of the assembled onlookers looking around awkwardly, Wendy finally spoke up. “Okay everybody, show of hands! Who here is really not all that surprised by any of this?” she proclaimed, holding her arm high in the air.

Grunkle Stan immediately raised his hand and glared at Ford, who also reluctantly raised his. Melody elbowed Soos, and he slowly followed his wife in raising his palm aloft. Finally, Grenda and Candy showed their hands, their heads down in embarrassment.

Cassie looked around in shocked confusion. Mabel and Dipper gaped in disbelief. “You all … you all _knew?_ ” Dipper blurted.

“I wasn’t _sure_ , Man, but …” said Wendy, “… I kinda thought so. You never crushed on me after your first summer up, and all your cute and awkward junk started getting directed at her.” She looked at his sister. “And Mabel, you _completely_ stopped hitting on every boy who crossed your path. I knew you had feelings for _someone_. Dipper was the only boy around!”

Mabel couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She turned to her old friends “Was I really that obvious?” she cried to Grenda, who just nodded hesitantly. Mabel was mortified, and addressed Candy. “You moved away after that summer! _You_ couldn’t have seen anything?”

Candy hung her head in shame. “No, but … I … _wanted_ to,” she replied meekly. “I wrote many … fan fiction stories about the both of you.” The twins gasped, and Candy raised her chin defiantly. “I didn’t use your real names. And they very good! They get _many_ good notes on my blog!” At Grenda’s suspicious look, Candy bowed her head again. “I’m sorry, Mabel and Dipper, but I always imagine you look very cute together.” She gave them a small smile. “I’m happy I was right!”

Melody spoke next. “Guys, I really didn’t get to know you two until your second summer up, and I thought you were a little … _close_ ,” she said. She pursed her lips sympathetically. “I wish I had tried to talk to you about what you were going through, and having just given birth to Junior, I had some standing in the ‘what might happen’ department. But your last summer … I thought it _was_ pretty obvious that something was going on between you. I’m just sorry I didn’t make you talk things out, so that you wouldn’t have had to face it all alone,” she said regretfully as she motioned her husband to continue.

“Dude, I took you into town a lot that summer, and you always hid what you kept picking up at the drug store,” said Soos, looking chagrined. “I’m not the smartest guy, but … even _I_ could figure out what you were buying!”

Mabel hid her face in shame, and Dipper was blushing furiously. Only Cassie thought what Soos said was kind of funny.

Finally, Dipper locked eyes with Stan. His great uncle shrugged. “Kids, I could tell there was something extra between you two the _first_ summer you were up,” said Stan. “Siblings usually just don’t _care_ about each other as much as you two always did. You had a connection that was just unnaturally good! Dipper, you might have drooled over other girls,” he said, nodding slyly to Wendy, “but you never _loved_ anyone like you loved Mabel, probably before you even realized it.”

Stanford shuffled, then gathered himself. “Mabel, Dipper, I know this may be late, but I want to apologize. I saw the same signs as Stanley did that first summer … Part of my rationale for encouraging Dipper to stay with me in Gravity Falls to be my apprentice … was to force you both to have time apart.” Dipper’s eyes widened as Mabel turned to face Ford, shocked. He raised his hands in defeat. “I see now that as much as I was right, I was also wrong! You have made a life together that obviously works. I can’t argue with the evidence.”

“Yeah, and you can’t argue with _experience_ either, brother,” added Stan wryly.

Ford looked at his twin sternly. But Stan backed Ford down with a glare and continued. ”You two kids deserve to know you aren’t the _only_ twins who now are … _more_ to each other than most siblings are.”

After a brief tense stare with Stan, Ford relaxed then nodded. With a deliberate purpose, he addressed his great niece and nephew. “Stanley is right,” he said gravely. “He and I have learned personally that familial love isn’t always … conventional.”

Everyone absorbed the implications of what the octogenarian uncles had just revealed. Mabel smacked her hand over her mouth, completely astonished. And judging by the facial reactions of the other Gravity Falls locals, she wasn’t the only one taken by surprise. No one had any idea before that moment.

Like everyone in the room, Cassie wasn’t precisely certain what the elderly twins were admitting to, but she correctly got the message: they had a special relationship of sibling love not dissimilar to that of her parents. She looked up and around to all the adults in the room and saw stunned reactions. But she noted that none had looked disgusted, or even disapproving. And she realized she hadn’t seen any disgust or disapproval on the reveal of her own family’s “secret”, either.

Cassie spoke up. “So what now?” she cried innocently. “Is everybody good? Are we all okay?”

The simple question broke the ice. Everyone looked around and saw that nothing was really different now that two truths were out in the open. Every person was still the same person they had been when they entered the cavern.

Stan stepped gingerly up to his young relatives, and he grinned down into the face of his great-great-niece. “Yeah, I think we’re okay,” he said gently to Cassie. Ford quietly stepped in beside him, and they put their arms around each other’s shoulders. Then Stan smiled more broadly at Dipper and Mabel. “We’re a little weird … but we’re okay!”

With unashamed and tearful laughter, all five members of the family were hugging. When Soos, Melody, Wendy, Candy, and Grenda all joined in, there was grateful relief. The whole Pines family had the acceptance of their closest friends. Revealing the secrets had taken the weight off of them all.

In the center of the cluster of bodies, a twelve-year-old girl embraced the torsos of her parents as hard as she could. Her face was buried in her mother’s sweater, her father’s t-shirt pressed against her ear. This was the best feeling she could remember, certainly the most satisfying relief she’d ever felt since she uncovered the truth about her parents a year earlier.

“I love you, Mom and Dad! Thank you!” Cassie murmured. She felt the arms of both her parents embrace her tighter. It didn’t matter if they could hear her or not. They _knew_ it, and that was what mattered.


	4. Epiliogue

The attic had been Mabel and Dipper’s sanctuary for three summers, a place together that had seen their relationship change immensely. Building a tighter bond following daily incredible adventures in 2012. Uncomfortable and silent longing for each other in 2013. And finally, wondrous exploration of every physical pleasure of young love, over the entire summer of 2014.

So after the emotional confession down in the lab, when it was agreed that the weary travelers from the East coast needed to rest, it was no surprise who volunteered to sleep in the attic. Cassie was given the guest room in the modern new wing of the building, and the drafty attic of the A-frame once again became the refuge of the twins, fourteen years later.

While Mabel helped Cassie settle, Dipper had carried their bags up the creaky old stairs, and found that not too much had changed in their old room. Things were cleaner to be sure, but the exposed rafters and roof planks still gave off the familiar scent of seasoned wood that he had missed. He noted that a few faded and brittle posters Sev’ral Timez were still tacked to the boards, and he was amazed to see yellowing pages of some of his old patchwork investigative notes, connected by rusted pins and fraying red strings.

There had been a couple of major modifications to the room, though. Along both side walls, Soos had constructed custom built-in storage shelves and drawers which tucked perfectly beneath the slanted walls. Years earlier, this would have presented a problem, because although the new units made it unnecessary for dressers and other storage furniture in the room, it also took up the same space where the two beds had always sat.

But this was mitigated by the second major change: against the center of the far wall, directly under the triangular window, now sat a large queen-sized bed, the only bed in the room. Neither Soos nor Melody had said a word. Dipper shook his head with a rueful smile. They really _had_ known about the twins’ close relationship, and obviously they had already been prepared to provide him and his sister a private place to be a couple, without making any big deal about it. He mentally took a note to remind himself that he had to give them another big hug for being such good friends.

He had just finished emptying a bag with necessities when Mabel appeared. She made a tiny squeal of delight as she took in the new look of their old room. “I know, right?” agreed Dipper.

Mabel closed the door to the attic bedroom. “I think Cass was out cold before her head hit the pillow!”

Dipper smirked as he stooped to place the bag on a shelf. “Sounds like her. After tonight, she’ll likely sleep ‘til noon.” As he straightened up, Mabel had positioned herself directly in front of him and looked up at him coquettishly. His smirk grew. Stretching expansively and producing a comically big yawn, he smacked his lips and absently stared at the wall behind his sister. “She’s got the right idea! I’m too tired to even change out of my clothes! I think I’ll just pass out and sprawl on the bed right now.” He fixed his gaze mischievously on Mabel. “That seems like the thing to do, don’t you think?”

“Don’t you dare, Dippin’ Dots,” Mabel replied huskily. She began expertly undressing her unresisting lover. “ _You_ made sure that we made that announcement tonight. And tonight, for the _first_ time, I know what it feels like to know that we’re accepted.” She leaned up to tenderly kiss her brother as more of his clothes dropped to the floor. “I’m so proud of you,” she murmured, kissing him again, longer and more passionately. “And you are _not_ falling asleep before we christen this bed good and properly!” she whispered before gently pushing a happy and naked Dipper down onto the bed.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, Dipper spooned Mabel’s nude body tightly to his own under the light sheet. They laid there basking tiredly in the afterglow for several minutes. Dipper’s face wore a blissful expression as he lightly caressed Mabel’s stomach with the fingers and palms of both his hands..

Mabel covered her hands over his and held them securely against her abdomen. Both of them squeezed lightly, and she giggled at the sensation. Dipper chuckled into her shoulder, delicately sliding his lips across the skin of her upper back and neck. Mabel hummed appreciatively. Fatigue was approaching fast, racing to overtake her consciousness..

But first, she had to ask the obvious question. “Soooooo … when do we spill the beans on our _other_ little secret?”

Dipper smiled sleepily. “We could’ve just told everyone tonight, but I think Cassie had enough for one day.”

“A-greed,” Mabel grunted dreamily. “She’d have gone _nuts!_ … can you imagine how excited she’ll be, flying off the walls … she’d hurt herself …”

“Yeah,” Dipper replied with a grin, his voice also getting groggy. “Can’t let our little accident … _have_ an accident.”

Mabel chortled softly. “Not after learning about … our _new_ accident!” She patted the backs of Dipper’s hands as he cupped her tiny paunch. “Love youuuuu …” she breathed as she gently nodded off to sleep in her lover’s embrace.

“Love you too,” he whispered back, giving Mabel’s whole body a tiny squeeze, while lightly kissing the nape of Mabel’s neck.

The twins hadn’t intended for Mabel to get pregnant again. Despite the sacrifices in their lives, having Cassie had been incredibly rewarding for them, and they always wished they could have another child. However, they knew the risks involved with having a second baby. There was not only the need to develop legal explanations for who fathered the new child, but more importantly there was still the measurably increased risk of health problems. They were fortunate with Cassie, they knew. For over a dozen years, Dipper and Mabel didn’t want a baby to suffer the consequences because they chose to roll the dice. 

So when Mabel’s birth control failed them for a second time, they had been understandably very nervous. They kept the news to themselves and told no one. Mabel visited an obstetrician and asked for prenatal tests to look for genetic problems. A week earlier in New Jersey, they quietly rejoiced when the tests of the three-month-old fetus came back showing no identifiable issues. They were incredibly relieved that they had no reason to think they would not have another healthy child.

But this development still raised a thorny issue. They had promised Cassie for years that they would take her across the country to visit Gravity Falls. Money issues and bad timing had always made the vacation difficult to accomplish. Thinking now that they could never easily explain _another_ baby of “unknown” paternity to their Oregon family and friends, they made a quick vacation decision: if Cassie would ever get to see Gravity Falls, they had to borrow some money from their folks and do so immediately, before Mabel began noticeably showing.

All this subterfuge, of course, was now completely unnecessary. Thanks to their bright and persistent daughter, they were free to share this news anytime they wanted to!

Dipper sighed happily. In about six months, he was going to be a father again! His family’s complicated life was about to get even more complicated, but he was now confident they could handle anything as long as they stuck together. He moved his fingers imperceptibly below Mabel’s belly button, imagining he was patting their baby’s back.

 _Don’t worry little guy,_ he thought as his eyes closed. _Your Mom and Dad will take care of you … and your big sister will be great … Cassie’s always wanted a little brother …_

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed some feel-good fluff about a difficult topic. Remember folks, this is fiction!


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